He ducked and hid his face as she came out of the pizzeria and watched as she walked past with her friends . She had been inside for an hour and a half. He had guessed correctly that she would have pizza for her birthday lunch. He had been trailing her all day.
She had gone to the Ganesha temple after her bath. He particularly liked the orange salwar-kameez she had worn then. Orange was very becoming on her. He had followed her in his car as she walked back to her house. He waited for an hour, eating packed sandwiches, before her friends began to arrive. He recognised most of them. The short girl who lived in the next street. The tall slouchy girl, who, he knew, was the class topper. He knew her cousin as well who came in at last.
She was dressed in jeans and T-shirt like most of her friends, when they came out and her mother drove them to the pizzeria just before noon. He was certain the mother would not stay. As they walked, window shopping, after lunch, he casually drove past only to park ahead and wait. He had followed her around enough to know that she was headed towards the cosmetics shop around the corner. On every festive occasion since her fifteenth birthday, she had come here to buy nail polish. That was two years ago.
She took her time picking the color of the nail polish. As she came out holding a little shopping bag, he was ready with the engine running. They’re right away hailed an auto-rickshaw and set off. He diligently followed. He had no idea where they were headed but he had a tank full off petrol and was prepared for anything. He was little surprised when they stopped before the mall. He parked in the basement and hurried up the escalated to almost bump into her. He casually walked away to watch from a distance. After some wandering, they entered the multiplex. All shows were sold out but he had not anticipated that she had an advance booking. As the girls went into the theater, he went into the food court and ordered a dosa.
As he sat there, he saw several girls off her age with boys. He wondered if she had a boyfriend. He was almost sure that she didn’t. He had trailed her around diligently but he knew girls her age were capable of hiding things if they wanted to.
He returned to the multiplex entrance by the time the movie ended. He did not have to look for her. She always stood out in a crowd. Off late she had developed a womanly beauty but she had been remarkably beautiful ever since he first laid his eyes on her.
The group had some snacks and parted. Some of her friends, he saw, left as she stayed with others a little longer and returned home in an auto-rickshaw. He knew her mother had planned a party for the evening. Her mother did not fancy surprise parties. He parked his car in the neighboring street and walked past the house several times. She did not leave the house all evening, instead had many guests over for the party. He sat in his car and day-dreamed of being in the party. He was tired. He was getting too old for stalking girls. The party was over by 11:00 PM. Of late, he noticed her parties lasted longer. He watched the windows of the house a little longer. Her window did not face the street and he could not get even a glimpse of her. He did not use his binoculars lest the neighbors notice.
It was midnight when he returned to his apartment. He poured himself a neat whiskey and gulped it down in a single breadth. He carried the bottle into the kitchen and emptied it into the sink. That was, as he had promised himself, his last drink. He placed her birthday present on the shelf among the eleven others. They were many dolls and frocks. Not just birthday presents, there also were diwali presents and even a bicycle. Just one more year, he rejoiced. He opened the album he had made and looked through all the photographs. He would have the ones he shot today processed and paste them in the album. As he looked through the album, he could not help but shed a few tears. He had every moment documented every birthday, every diwali, the summer she got chicken pox, her first day in college, everyday. He saw the photograph he had taken in the middle of the night of their house. One window was lit up. He knew she would have nightmares when he had said there three rows behind her and watched “The Ring”. He had sat up in his car outside her house all night long and watched as her mother got up twice to calm her.
Years ago, he had sent her presents by mail. Not only were they returned but also he got a call from a lawyer saying he could not send any presents. Lawyers had a lot to say those days, as did her mother. The judge said little but ended by saying he could not see her again. All that would change a year from today. He could see her when she turned eighteen. The law said so. He would be sober for every single day till then. Meanwhile he would look from a distance as he has been looking all these years.
